December 28, 2012

Well, the world didn't come to an end last week, but for some, this may seem almost as apocalyptic. Today is the end of Your Friday Bruce Fix, and no, I'm not pulling your leg, like this April Fool's joke from 2011.

After five years, more than 260 Friday Bruce Fixes and more than 600 videos, I just feel like I'm done. It has been a lot of fun and I hope you've enjoyed it, too. I suppose I could go on forever given the extraordinary depth and breadth of Bruce Springsteen's catalogue. He has produced a body of work that is pretty much unmatched, beginning with his 1966 recording of 'That's What You Get' and 'Baby I', and continuing on to this day.

Although Bruce makes it easy to find great material to post, after all this time, I've run out of enthusiasm for the time commitment required to post every Friday (I think I missed only one, while on vacation) to the point where I just don't want to do this anymore. I hope you'll understand and I hope you'll find a way to get your Bruce Fix when you need it.

Thanks to the many Bruce enthusiasts for their time commitment to post all those videos on YouTube and a very big thanks to the people behind SpringsteenLyrics and Brucebase and of course the man himself. This blog would have been impossible without you.

Before I go, I thought I'd leave you with a Top 10 list. I don't mean this to be THE definitive, all-time list of the 10 best Bruce Springsteen songs. I guess it's the 10 performances and/or 10 songs that I just couldn't live without, and the songs I turn to most often when I need my fix.

I should also say that making a list like this is almost impossible. A list of 25 would seem to be easier. There are certain songs and performances that I can hardly believe I've left off this top 10 list. Of course, if I drew the line at 25, I'd still hate some of the cuts I would have made. On second thought, maybe a top 5 would have been easier, as I would have had fewer painful cuts to make.

I sort of cheated last week by sneaking Kitty's Back into my Bruce Springsteen Christmas roundup. I've probably played that one clip more times than any other, it was the first video played on the first Friday Bruce Fix that I sent to four friends by email five years ago and it's a great place to go to get my fix. It really does belong in the top 10. Let's call it the top 11!

One observation I'd like to make in looking at my list is that I've gravitated towards songs that mostly highlight Bruce's brilliance as a song writer and as a solo performer. As much as I love the E Street Band, those fist pumping anthems, the all night parties that are Springsteen concerts, and Bruce's total command of the stage and the building as the best band leader in the history of rock and roll, it's when you strip all of that away down to just the song and the performer, that the genius of Bruce Springsteen's artistry shines brightest.

I can't leave without a nod to the Big Man, Clarence Clemons. After he died, I posted a couple of tributes here and here. There will always be a hole on the stage to Bruce's right and in our hearts.

OK, so here we go, in reverse or countdown order. Of course, feel free to play them in whatever order you want. While this may be my top 10 Bruce Fixes, it's still Your Friday Bruce Fix!

As always, if you're getting your fix while at the office, don't take any calls, cancel your meetings, close your office (or cubicle) door, watch these fixes on full screen and turn up the volume. Sometimes, you just need your fix. With any luck, it won't get you fired.

December 21, 2012

With Christmas just around the corner, choosing this week's songs was pretty easy. Bruce Springsteen has performed quite a few Christmas songs and I thought I'd gather a bunch of them right here in one big Christmas edition of Your Friday Bruce Fix.

Since we are still so close to the 5 year anniversary of the very first Friday Bruce Fix, I'm happy to use that as an excuse to lead off with the very clip that started it all, especially as it precedes a Christmas song.

So, first up is a scorching rendition of 'Kitty's Back' from Bruce's 2002 appearance on 'Late Night with Conan O'Brien', followed by 'Merry Christmas Baby' from the end of that broadcast, which is in turn followed by five other Christmas tunes that you'll recognize, with the possible exception of the last one.

December 14, 2012

In each of the last two week's Friday Bruce Fixes, I featured songs that were making their debut after five years of fixes. I know it must seem shocking that I've missed so many great songs, but damn that Springsteen guy has written a lot of songs and I'd have to be doing this blog a lot longer before I'd be able to get to them all. To complicate matters, he keeps on writing more songs. I think I'm fighting a losing battle!

Still, not quite ready to give up, I've unearthed a few more fine tunes from Bruce Springsteen that I've yet to play here on Your Friday Bruce Fix. So, here we go.

Waaaaay back on May 2, 1972 when Bruce auditioned for John Hammond at Columbia, I think the story goes that when John asked Bruce to perform a song he wouldn't normally play live, Bruce played 'If I Was the Priest'. He played it that day on acoustic guitar. This solo piano performance quite possibly comes from the demo recording session the following day at Columbia.

Now, fast forward to 2005's 'Devils & Dust' album for which Bruce recorded 'Jesus Was An Only Son'. This was written more than 30 years after concocting the above scenario where Jesus was the sherrif and Bruce was the priest, and was likely informed by the emotions that come from being a father of three children. It's hard not to be touched by this song, especially if you've ever lost a family member, especially a child, or contemplated what that might be like.

If you enjoy the religious references in Bruce's song writing, you might want to read 'The Gospel According to Bruce Springsteen'. I haven't read it myself, so I can't recommend it, but I suspect it's an interesting read.

Back to songs making their debut, here's a double shot of 'Stolen Car'. First up, the lovely version that appeared on 'Tracks' as 'Stolen Car' but which was also known in bootleg circles as 'Son, You May Kiss the Bride', followed by the official version as played on 'Born in the USA' tour.

'Mansion on the Hill' came from Bruce's acoustic masterpiece 'Nebraska'. This is a live version from the Reunion tour.

Finally, 'Tomorrow Never Knows' is an overlooked gem from the 'Working on a Dream' album.

Tags:
Blog, Bruce Springsteen, Columbia, If I Was The Priest, Jesus Was an Only Son, John Hammond, Mansion on the Hill, Music, Rock and Roll, Son You May Kiss The Bride, Stolen Car, Tomorrow Never Knows, Video

December 07, 2012

I'm sure you must all have this date marked in your calendar. Yes, that's right, today is Your Friday Bruce Fix's 5th birthday. So, happy birthday to us, all of us!

This week, I'll continue with a theme from last week by featuring five Bruce Springsteen songs that I've managed to ignore for these past five years. Making their debut today on Your Friday Bruce Fix are 'Dead Man Walkin', from the soundtrack of the movie by the same name, 'Jackson Cage' from 'The River', 'Streets of Fire' from 'Darkness on the Edge of Town', 'Savin' Up', a song Bruce wrote for Clarence Clemons for inclusion on his first solo album with the Red Bank Rockers, and 'Give the Girl a Kiss', an outtake from the Darkness recording sessions.

November 30, 2012

This week's Friday Bruce Fix resulted from a browse through the archives that uncovered three great songs that I had inexplicably not yet featured, not even once, in nearly five years of fixes. I apologize profusely for such an embarrassing oversight, which I can only explain as being the result of the embarrassment of riches that is the Bruce Springsteen songbook.

I quickly realized there is a common thread running through these songs related to guns and bullets, metaphorically or otherwise, and so it made sense to feature them together in one fix. The first three make their Friday Bruce Fix debut today, and it just made sense to me bring 'American Skin' back for a return appearance with its 41 Shots.

So, keep your wits about you on this most dangerous Friday Bruce Fix. Remember, one false move and baby the lights go out.

November 23, 2012

One of my favourite things to do is sift through Bruce Springsteen's garbage can to dig out some of the great songs he threw away. To be fair, he generally doesn't throw songs away, it's just that some songs don't quite fit the concept of the album he might be creating at the time.

For the longest time, these four rejects from the recording sessions for 'The River' only saw the light of day due to the dedicated efforts of a relatively small number of bootleggers. Bruce has since given us official releases of these on the 'Tracks' box set and there are also a number of unofficial videos to watch. Here are a few for you.

November 16, 2012

Well, Halloween is now a couple of weeks in the rear view mirror and I've finished off the last of the chocolatey treats that I held back from all those little monsters that came to the door. I'll miss that candy until next year, but in the meantime, I thought I'd share another type of candy with you today.

'Candy's Boy' is an early, work-in-progress version of what would eventually become 'Candy's Room', one of the 10 songs that made the final cut, out of the 70 or so songs that Bruce Springsteen recorded for 'Darkness on the Edge of Town'. As always, it's interesting to see how the song evolved.

November 09, 2012

More than a week has passed since Sandy came ashore and I find myself still thinking of Asbury Park, The Stone Pony, and the Jersey Shore. So, today's Friday Bruce Fix will feature a few videos that draw on the sights and sounds of the scene that we know from the songs of Bruce Springsteen.

Here's a video of Bruce helping out his long-time Asbury Park buddy, Stevie Van Zandt, who at the time was fronting his Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul. Bruce joins Steve on stage at the Stone Pony.

This video features film shot in 1988 of key Asbury Park locations the figure prominently in Bruce's songs and story.

Here's a piece that Matt Lauer of NBC did while driving around Asbury Park with Bruce.

Finally, this video of the three Asbury Amigos, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Van Zandt and Southside Johnny, shot at the Stone Pony, nicely captures the essence of their friendship, their story and the Jersey Shore sound that they helped to create.

Shameless Self-Promotion Alert:

For those of you in Toronto this weekend, Nov 10th & 11th, I'm showing my photography in this Art Show & Sale. A sample of one of my images is below. If you're kicking around this weekend and enjoy art, drop by any time between 1pm and 7pm.

November 02, 2012

The focus of this week's Friday Bruce Fix must seem an obvious choice, perhaps even too obvious, but I felt it would have been wrong to go in any other direction this week. Many people have lost and suffered so much this week, and the end of that suffering must seem a very long way off. Our hearts go out to you.

Tonight at 8:00 pm EDT, NBC will host a one hour telethon to raise money for the Hurricane Sandy relief effort featuring New Jersey natives Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi, and Long Island'sBilly Joel. I don't know whether Bruce will get enough screen time to perform more than one song, but I thought I'd engage in some speculation about what he might play.

I don't think he will play '4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)' although it has been hard to get this song out of my head this week. Many Springsteen fans have noted the irony of a storm named Sandy slamming into the New Jersey shore. From what I've seen on line, the boardwalk in Asbury Park did sustain some damage but was not wiped out like some other boardwalks along the shore. I wondered about Madame Marie's, which I gather had its glass door blown off, but is still standing, as is the Stone Pony. In any case, this is a great song about a place that readers of this blog love, so I'll play it here:

I think two more likely candidates are 'My City of Ruins' and 'Atlantic City'. The former immediately leaps to mind as Bruce wrote it about Asbury Park, and then gave it new meaning when he performed it for the 9/11 benefit, and he has again given it new meaning on his current tour. Perhaps he'll put it to work again tonight. Which song(s) do you think Bruce will play?

Atlantic City also took a pounding from Sandy. While the song really doesn't suit the occasion, there is one lyric that does: "Everything dies baby that's a fact, but maybe everything that dies some day comes back".

Watching this performance, in light of the events of this week, as Bruce repeats "meet me tonight in Atlantic City', it feels like an attempt to rally his community to rebuild and try to take back what can be taken back. As we hear so often in Bruce's songs, I hear strength, faith and hope in the face of despair.

October 26, 2012

With Halloween lurking around the corner, this week's Friday Bruce Fix features a couple of Bruce Springsteen's nods to the scariest of all holidays, that is unless your holiday family gatherings with your mother-in-law are even more frightening.

In 2007, when the 'Magic' tour rolled into the LA Sports Arena, Bruce decided to have a little fun with the show opening and his entrance onto the stage.

Then, for Halloween 2008, Bruce gave his fans this little Halloween treat.